Gulfstream Will Not Go It Alone on an SSBJ

Gulfstream Aerospace president Bryan Moss has dismissed the company’s long-discussed “Quiet Supersonic Jet” (QSJ). At a press conference at EBACE earlier this month, he asked, “Will Gulfstream build a supersonic business jet? Read my lips: No!” He said the company is devoting its research efforts in this field to two issues: rule changes that would allow supersonic flight over land and sonic-boom suppression. However, a spokesman said that Moss’s remarks do not exclude the company from participating in a consortium to build an SSBJ. Both Aerion and Supersonic Aerospace International (SAI) are seeking partners to build their respective SSBJs. But Gulfstream’s supersonic philosophy seems more closely aligned with that of SAI, which also seeks to change supersonic overland regulations and is focused on developing an SSBJ with an ultra-low supersonic boom.